Lesson Handout, Special Education, and Maintaining Leisure Reading of Students

Following the role of the teacher, the media specialist can have much lesson planning work to do. Creating a handout on a topic that can be conquered verbally in a few minutes can be painstaking.

I tried reading a book to a severely disabled student today. I gave him time and attention and guided my actions to what he was suggesting to me. He uses a Mercury Computer which speaks for him what he touches. He always tells me that he likes folk and jazz music. I would be interested in finding books about folk and jazz music or books that would go with music for him.

Another special education teacher asked me if I would be able to suggest some books to 2 students who are in 6th grade but on a slightly lower reading level. I perused the fiction section and got some ideas. I brought up some titles to the media specialist that I thought might work for the students. She looked up the reading levels.

The one student needed two different books so the media specialist, after finding out who the students were, their level, and what books they have recently read was then able to say that the Peter Abrahams book would work.

I went to the presentation that Peter Abrahams did with students needing special education so I guess I knew that it would be good for them if possible to take what they knew from one situation and transfer it to another. A connection has already been made. The value in author visits can really be beneficial to students and media specialists!

One of the 8th grade boys who comes to the media center for a study hall in place of a language class when I am here tells me that he does not like to read because he is lazy. He told me that he can get A's if he wanted and does get some, but he likes to be relaxed and does not really see reading as relaxing but as a chore.

He enjoys downhill biking. I looked up to see if I could find books available on that on Amazon.com. I found:

Amazon Title, Soul on Bikes by Tobie Levingston (Author). He said this might be cool, but he would not prefer travel-oriented bike books.

A Visit to Somewhere New--Central Middle School

The media specialist at Eastern used to work at Central. She told me that I really need to hear Judy Peterson give her booktalks. So, she set it up that I can go to Central today.

The first booktalk consisted of several "good reads". The students were all very much engaged similarly to how I have seen at Eastern.

The environment is beautiful where the booktalks take place, separated from interferences yet open to the windows.

The media specialist here is on a great level with the students. She is has a perfect level of comfort with them. It is nice to see that. I know she has many years of experience at this institution.

I saw four different groups of students hear Mrs. Peterson give booktalks on several books each class. She invited students to join her in the telling of different books. Students like to tell her when they have read a certain book. She was truly amazing that she could talk about 6-7 books per class!

Students were laughing and she had a great time with them and they listened well to her.

Authors and PowerPoint

On Tuesday morning upon arriving, I met a local author who is in the process of publishing a book. She has asked me to read her manuscript and let her know what I think about it. Believe it or not, I felt excited to be a part of such an assignment. I see the value in literature especially from someone who is looking for an honest review.
After speaking with the author, I found out about her life and why she is interested in that field.

Later, I was reviewing a DVD-Rom that I received on an Interlibrary Loan from Fairfield where they received from Sacred Heart's library. I find the reQuest catalog very, very valuable for finding text and books at any library in the state with a quick search inquiry. I even love how they tell you how far away the found library is from your location.
I showed this to the Media Specialist and Media Assistant who took some time and found some interest in David Byrnes work in PowerPoint because it is so different.

Toward the end of my day there, I was asked to take three Special Education students to see a presentation from the author Peter Abrahams in the auditorium where other classes also heard his stories. Not only was it nice to spend time with these students but also to hear the lecture from the author.
The author gave a detailed account of some portions of his life. He made the audience aware of his other works with a sense of pride. What I liked most about the lecture was when he read his book! That was what I remember most. This is a key idea about book talks. I would like to read a portion of each one:)

Lesson Planning and Book Reviews

Today I worked on a lesson plan for the students. It will be about PowerPoint. Of course, I am trying to include their objectives, my objectives, Fairfield University methodologies amongst other things.

Also I was discovering books that I thought would be good that teh library does not carry such as Vonnegut, Robbins, Burgess, Darwin, Pynchon, Nabokou, Dostoevsky, and Palahniuk. If they did carry these books, it was only one. I did not hear of all these authors but as I was digging I thought some of them would be worth looking into. Perhaps they may be for an older type audience, since the high school does carry more of the aforementioned, but I think the students need to be aware of these authors at an earlier age since they may need to hear of them for some time before they actually pick them up.

The media specialist told me that they go to Greenwich Library's web site, search their catalog for the book to see if it has been reviewed by School Library Journal. If yes, it is a-go, but if not, futher deliberation occurs.

Two 8th grade boys checked out books that I suggested. The one told me that he hates books, so we have a challenge going to see how he likes the one I picked out for him. He said that he hasn't checked out a book in ages. This spurred an idea--not to let that happen. Have emails on file notifying who has not used their account in a while. We can send them a survey to find out their interests so we can help them maintain an interest in books!

Survival Books

Today was a hopping day! In addition to all the new books, the media specialists were thinking about intellectually stimulating books about survival. As they were mentioning titles, I added some suggestions. One was relevant from a multicultural course taken at Fairfield University in which we read young adult diverse literature and wrote critical analyses of the books. I remembered a title that I thought was appropriate. I told them about the book and then one of the media specialists found the book on the shelf. I them remembered that I had that analysis of that particular book saved in my one email account. I printed out my summary and then I later saw the other media specialist with the book and my analysis! It made me feel good, I do admit; that my input was considered so genuinely. I also made a suggestion about White Fang since she mentioned Call of the Wild, a book they just read and that their teacher wanted the students to expand upon that theme with a new application of the material. Next thing I know, the media specialist is calling book stores locally and finding out how many copies of these survival books she can get that day! There were hundreds of books everywhere and she was going for more! I felt how lucky these students are to have such great resources at their fingertips!

What a great media specialist so determined to get the right books for the students she will do a book talk with! I thought it would be great if she dressed in survival gear! I guess I will find out how it went tomorrow.

Labels, Book Purchasing, and Students

Yesterday at the Media Center we received a very large shipment of books. Sometimes you must order accordingly! This was mentioned once before during a budget lecture done by Professor Horrigan as he explained the budget at his middle school to shine light on to the differences across the spectrum. Of course there was a teacher in the class that did some research to find that his schools budget for the entire year was very small. In those cases, you must make do with what you have and look for ways to increase funds--probably by increasing traffic and demand!

So, as I was sticking "Date Due" labels on books and tearing them out of boxes with my almost white pants on, I realized this job can get physical. Of course it shines light on the value of media assistants and paraprofessionals. I even had a student helping us out yesterday and was only because he inquired about doing so and said he had no other work to do. I felt that the more one gets involved in books, the more likely one may be to pick one up!

Speaking of influences, I know that there was a boyscout at the Y who was doing his Eagle Project by making bookshelves for the kids at the Y. What a great idea! Reading encourages so much! And what a great way for one person to help so many! Making things look pretty encourages interest.

I got to see the control a media specialist has over the entire population of the school and those to follow just by his or her selection of books. This can be seen from a morality perspective.

I also saw how the assembly line works. Boxes come in, get unpacked, labels stuck, throwaway cards out, label verification, and then check into the system.

I was working with two media assistants on the project.

Research with the Media Assistant and Parent Volunteer

Last month, I worked with parent volunteers on the bulletin boards. This is a very influential part of the media center as it can add or detract from student learning.

Luckily, here at Eastern, the bulletin boards are changed very frequently, at least once a month, and encourage reading and inform students. Students are informed by information provided for them from faculty and staff as well as their own peers' work which is also represented on these display cases.

As the volunteer and the media assistant brainstormed for ideas, they came to a conclusion that Frozen Foods Month would be a fun topic. It would not only be interesting and new but include the aspect of inventions in a disguised way by including fun frozen foods and their inventors.

I researched each item suggested that would be relevant for the display. I gave the parent volunteer printouts of the research as I found it. Most of what I looked up that day is not beautifully cut and decorated in the display with the addition of three-dimensional props and books to emphasize the information.

I believe by working with parents, faculty, and students in a way that shows your interest in their work can create a beautiful finished product that can create good, shared feelings by many including the students who may at least subconsciously feel that someone is caring for them by taking the time to make their environment as aesthetically pleasing as possible so they feel a desire to learn!

Sign Language Integrated into a Language Arts Class

Students had several opportunities to understand what it is like to be deaf and to try to empathize the meaning of the disability.

7th Grade students in this collaborative class had the opportunity to recite the pledge of allegiance in Sign Language. They are reading The Miracle Worker by William Gibson and are doing many constructivist methodologies intertwined within it!

Creating artwork from text depicting what the stage would look like was an assignment for one class who was reciting the play in front of the room. Another class studying the same thing had the speech pathologist give an incredible lesson on deafness and taught them sign. Not only did they learn the pledge, but they also learned their classmates middle names by deciphering the sign language they used.

Students were thus able to learn something new about their classmates as they were directed back to learning about a book and their feelings as well as the feelings of the characters in the book as they live vicariously through the many fashioned exercises they are given.

I thought the lesson was great and stimulating for the students. It was getting them excited about the literature. Their teacher who observed most of the speech pathologists lesson added higher-level cognitive comprehension questions relating to an aspect of the story when she saw fit. The students answered the comprehension question in sign language.

This is not only a totally great way to get kids interested in literature but also a great way to teach about others with disabilities first hand.

In the technology field, we could extend the lesson further by showing the students the Pledge of Allegiance in Sign in a multimedia format.

Speaking of Blogs

After chatting with a Spanish teacher in the Media Center at the middle school, I brought up to her the use of blogs to communicate with Spanish-speaking students in other parts of the world.

She was interested in this idea especially when I told her that blogs can be made private or available for all to see. I told her that she can select who can read and post to them through BLOGGER.

There was an identity/privacy worry if done with school email.

I feel that this would extend the Spanish curriculum and make it feel useful in a safe way.

Special Education Discussion


Last week, I discussed with a Special Education aid about his student. I was interested in how this severly disabled student can benefit from the media center where they spend so much time.

I have thought of several ideas off the top of my head and suggested them to the LMS.

One of the ideas is to create a book talk or have a read-aloud with Joe, the student with a disability. I do not believe that he currently partakes in them. Perhaps a media specialist can include books that would be on his learning level too. Then he can be included in the reasoning behind the booktalk.

I think that and have taken graduate classes that stress the usefulness of children's book in educating all students including high school ones. I found out that Joe likes Stone Soup and Pete Seegar books and music. If we can do a lesson on one of these books and integrate it into the curriculum, I feel that many goals can be achieved. Non-disabled students will appreciate and respect the administration's purpose for this form of an empathetic lesson. It will show Joe their reactions to the literature which is important in his progression in education.

I even thought that a multimedia presentation can be done for Joe either by the students or a LMS. If done by the students, perhaps Joe might feel intimidated? I think that it can make his interests in things come alive and direct that interest toward a new application in a new format with his peers learning so much too!

I will do research on this issue.